Phonograph recorder



Jan. 6, 1942.

c, s. JOHNSON PHONO GRARH RECORDER Original. Filed April 15; 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l Jan. 6, 1942. c. G. JOHNSON 2,269,270

PHONO'GRAPH RECORDER v Original Filed April 15, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented 'Jan.

PHONOGRAPH RECORDER.

Carl G lohnlon, Chicago, 111., assignor to J. P. Seeburg Corporation, a corporation-o! Illinois .OriginaI application April 15,1940, Serial No.

329,591. Divided and this application January 27,194LSM'181N0- smog:

fu Claims. (01. 274 -13) This application is divided from my copending application Serial No. 329,591, filed April 15, 1940. This invention relates to phonograph recorders v and has forv its principal object to provide an improved phonograph recorder and particularly a phonograph recorder adapted for making home a J recordings.

My improved recorder may suitably be incorporated in .a home type phonograph, the tumtable and the turntable drive, beingemployed both for the making of recordsand for the reproduction thereof. a

One of the principal objects of the present invention is to provide improved mechanism whereby the recorder arm may beheld in its in-- operative position except when it is desired to operate the machine for recording'purposes.

' Other objects, advantages and capabilities of the invention will appear from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a phonograph embodying my improved recorder showingthe recorder arm in operative position;

copending application Serial :No, 325,111 filed March 21, 1940. a

It may be noted that when I employ this phonograph, I set the supporting-posts i0 and l I in position to play twelve-inch records. Then, when the turntable is put into operation by the switch II, the player arm I! moves into the twelve-inch initial playingposition.and remains out] of contact with the turntable I! and the record blank I! upon which the recording is being made. It will be understood, however, that any suitable means may be provided to disconnect theposts HI,- i l, and the player arm I! from the drive of the motor l8, so that the recording Figure 21s a similar view showing the recorder arm in inoperative position;

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional elevation through the recorder arm, the section being taken on the line 3-4 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is an inverted plan view of the drive 7 lever shown in the lower part of Figure 3:

Figure 5 is a perspective view of half of the supporting member on which the recorder arm is pivotally mounted, the section being taken on I the horizontal axis 'of the recorder. arm;

Figure 6 is a verticalsection through the center of the turntable, the section being taken on the line 6-6 0! Figure 2; a

Figure 7 is a fragmentary sectional detail showing the latch member for the recorder arm,

the section being taken ure 2; and

Figure 8 is a similar view form of the latch member.

on theline'I-I of Fig- I showing a modified operation may be-eflected without any actuation of the record changing devices or the playerv arm i3.

The turntable .H is driven at'uniform speed'by the motor It by meanssof a friction wheel I! which engages the inner rim of the turntable, as shown in Figure 2. The turntable I4 is rigidly.

mounted upon a spindle II which projects upwardly above the turntable level for a substantial distance. The spindle I8 is 1 supported on a thrust bearing 19 at the lower end of the housin 20. This housing is supported on'the under side oi the motor board 2|, for example, by screws.

Removal of the spindle ll from the housing 26 is prevented by a set screw 22 which extends into a groove 23 in the spindle l8.

The spindle I8 is provided near its lower 'endwith worm 24 which cooperates with the gear 25 on a lead screw 28. The lead screw 28 is rotatably mounted in a horizontal portion 21 of the housing 20, this portion 21 being elongated to provide spaced bearings for the lead screw 28. The lead screw 26 projects out of the housing portion 21 and lies below the portion ofthe record blank uponwhich the recording is to be made. i

The record blank may be of any known type and is preferably provided with an opening 28 near its central opening. A small. plunger 29.

mounted in the turntable I4 and biassed up- It will be understood that my. improved recorder may be applied to any phonograph hav-' ing a turntable, or to a recording machine hav-l ing a turntable and not equipped with a repro' ducing player arm. For home use, however, it is preferred to mount my recording devices upon an automatic phonograph, and in Figures 1 and 2 r 1' have shown my recorder applied to the automatic phonograph described and claimed in my wardly by a light spring, is adapted'to project into the opening 28 in known manner, so as to prevent any slippage between the record and the turntable during recording. Itwill be understood that the spring of the plunger 28 is so light that an ordinary record placed upon the turntable I l moves-the plunger downwardly flush with the surface of the turntable. I

The recording arm 30 may suitably be of gen- 'eral box formation, being open on its under side; i

as shown in- Figure 3. The arm 30 is pivotally mounted on a supporting member 3|, one-hall of which is shown in Figure 5. The supportin member 3| comprises a lowercollar portion 32 which is rigidly mounted by means of a set screw 33 on a hollow shaft 34. The upper portion of the supporting member 3| comprises two side webs 35 which project upwardly into the recording arm 30, one web being located against one side of the :arm 30, and 'theother web being located againstjl e other side of the arm 30.

Adjacent its upper end, each web 35 is provided with a tapped opening 36 which is adapted to receive a screw 37, the outer portion of whichfis located in an opening in the adjacent side web of the arm- 30. Consequently, ,thearni' is piv otally mounted on the upper ends of the webs so that it may be swung from normal recording position, shown in full lines "in Figure- 3, into 4 the position shown in dot-and-dash lines in Fig ure 3, by' manual manipulation.

The hollow shaft 34 upon which thesupporting member 3| is mounted is rotatably mounted in a vertical bearing member 38 rigidly suppoited on the motor board 2] as shown in Figure 3. The hollow shaft 34 receives a sliding pin 39, the upper end of which is adapted to be engaged by a cam member 40 which is a central web located at the pivoted end of the arm 30.

The lower end of the pin 39 is supported on an adjusting screw 4| carried at one end of a lever 42 which is pivotally mounted on a horizontal axis 43 on a bracket 44 by means of set screws 45 and a pivot member 46 carried by the lever 42. The bracket 44 comprises a split collar portion 41 which is rigidly mounted on the hollow. shaft 34 by means of a screw 48.

At its other end, that is the end remote from the adjusting screw 4!, the lever 42 carries a somewhat resilient plate member 49 which projects beyond the end of the lever 42. The spring plate member 49 has a portion 50 stamped out and turned down as shown in Figures 3 and 4 so as to provide a contacting member for the lever 42 which engages the lead screw 25.

The lever 42 projects in substantially the same general direction as the arm 39, but it is located somewhat further away from the turntable spindle. The arrangement being such that when the arm 30 is moved over a portion of the record |5 upon which recording is to be made, the contact member 50 is brought over the lead screw '26. The end of the lever 42 carrying the contact 50 is biased downwardly by a suitable spring. I have shown a tension spring 5i connected to suitable elements on the collar 41 and on the lever 42 forthis purpose. I have also shown a flat spring 52 carried by the bracket 44 and engaging the lever 42 so as to attain this result. It is obvious that any other suitable means may be employed for forcibly biasing the lever 42 toward the lead screw 26.

- The cutting head 53 is mounted within the outer end of the arm 30. This cutting head may be of any well-known type and it carries a needle 54 which is adapted to cut the record 15. The needle 54 is retained in place by a screw 55 which proiectsoutwardly through a slot 56 in the end of the player arm 30. 'The cutting head 53 is rigidly connected to a bracket'5l which is pivotally mounted on opposite sides of the player arm 30 on an axis 53.

The bracket 51 carries a resilient member 59 which extends away fromthe cutting head 53 and is adapted to be engaged by a cam 80 or the bucket cam type. The cam 40 is mounted on the interior of the arm 34 and is directed downwardly. It is rigidly secured to a button 6| located on the upper side of the recording arm 30, the button GI and cam 60 being rotatably mounted in a boss 62 on the recording arm 30.

The cam 60 is held in any position into which it may be adjusted by a friction washer 53. suit-- able stops 64 on the cam .60 and boss 52 prevent the rotation. of the button Ei more' .than one revolution in one direction. Near the pivotal support of the arm 30 the arm is provided with an internal flange 85 which carries a set scre'w 66. This setscrew is in alignment with an enlarged portion 61 of one of the webs 35 as shown in Figure 5. It ,will readily be understood that adjustment of the screw 65 will permit the adjustment of the height of the end of the arm 30 carrying the fcutting head.

The cam member 40 comprises a cam rest 68 which is preferably a circle with the center on the pivotal axis of the arm 30. The cam 40 also comprises a cam rest 59 which engages thepin 39 when the arm 30 isswung upwardly away from cutting position into the position whichis shown p in dotted lines in Figure 3.

Between the surface 68 and surface 69, the cam member 40 is provided with a cam rise 10. When the' armf30 is in cutting position, the cam surface 68 engages the pin 39. When the arm 30 is swung toelevated position,,the camrise 10 moves over the upper end of the pin 39 an'dprojects this pin downwardly. The downward'movement of the pin 39 swings the lever 42 about its axis 43 and elevates the member 50 away'from the lead screw 26.

When the recording arm 30 is thrown into its inoperative position; that is the position shown in Figure 2, it is held in that position by means of a latch member I I. This latch member may suitably consist of a bracket secured to the under side of the motor board 2|, which bracket includes a horizontal arm 12 directed in a generally inward direction.

The extremity of the horizontal arm 52 is pro- .vided on its upper side with a sloping surface 13 which is adapted to engage the lever 32 when the arm 30 is moved into inoperative position. The sloping surface 13 is located in overlapping relation with the outer end of the lead screw 25 as shown in Figures 7 and 8, so that when the outwardly moving arm 30 carries the lever 42 into engagement with the sloping surface it, this lever is elevated against the action of the springs 5| and 52 and the contact member 50 is raised out of engagement with the lead screw 25. If

the. recorder arm is moved outwardly manually, the sloping surface 13 continues to raise the lever 42 away from the lead screw 28.]

The arm 12 is provided with a horizontal upper surface 15 over which the lever 42 may ride in the continued outward movement oi the arm 30. 5 When the arm 30 is completely and manually moved to its inoperative position, the lever 42 rides down an inclined surface I8 (Fig. 7) at the outer end of the horizontal surface 15 and the lever 42 is thus latched-in this position until it is positively moved inwardly again by manual actuation of the arm 3|. In this embodiment of the invention the lever 40 may be moved inwardly the recorder arm from its inoperative position,

"the recess provided in the bracket ii recorder arm is latched in this inoperativ posi- I is eiiected by first raising. thevrecorder arm,

whereupon the'cooperation of thejcam rise with thepin 3i raises the lever 42 out of the recess in the latch member I I.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Figure 8, the slopingsurface l6 is-replaced by a vertical surface or shoulder I1. It will be readily understood that in this modification the arm 30 cannot be moved inwardly until it is. definitely raised from its normal generally horizontal position so as to elevate the lever 42 out of the recess in the bracket II by cooperation between the cam rise 10 and the pin 39.

In either modification, the arm 30 is definitely held out in the inoperative position and when the arm is moved into operative position. the lever 42 may ride over the horizontal upper surface of the horizontal arm 12 and then may ride down the sloping surface "until the contact member 50 is returned into engagement with the lead screw 25.

Of course the arm may be. raised by hand to I a sumcient degree to prevent the engagement of the member 50 with the lead screw until the arm 30 is brought into the initial recording position for the blank on which the recording is to be made. However, the horizontal arm 12 insures for recording purposes.

It will be understood that the depth of cut is controlled by the position of the setscrew Cl and the button 6|. Since the lead screw 2i that the extremity of the lead screw will not be engaged by the inwardly moving lever 42.

The operation is as follows: The recording arm 30 being in the position shown in Figure-2, a record blank I5 is placed on the turntable with the plunger 29 projecting through its opening 28. The motor is then started and the recording arm 39 is elevated by hand. This elevation results in the downward movement of the pin 39 and the elevation of the member 50. The arm 30 is then tion until it is again moved inwardly by hand mounted at one end only; it may not be accu rately parallel with thetumtable. This lack of parallelarity has, however, no effect upon the recording arm 30. Any variation of the thrust of the pin 39 upon the cam surface 68 wfll have no effect upon the arm 30 since this pin engages a surface 68 which has its center on the axis of the arm 30.

The springs 5|, 5: are suihciently strong a maintain the screw 5.! in contact with the pin 39. The flexibility of the member 49 is such that this member will be distorted, if necessary, in order to follow a slight slope of thelead screw 26 so that the lead screw 26 may be out of horizontal position to some extent, without many way affecting the recording action of the needle 54.

- Although the invention has beendescribed inconnection with the specific details of a preferred embodiment thereof, it must be understood that such details are not intended to' be limitative of the invention except in so far as set forth in the accompanying claims. v

Having thus described my invention, I declare that what I claim is:

1. In a recorder for phonograph records including a turntable, a recorder arm, a lead screw and.

. a member engaging said lead screw and arranged translated manually so as to bring its needle 54 into proper initial position for the recording.

The arm 30 is then moved downwardly so as to bring the set screw 66 into abutting relation with the portion 61 of one of the webs This moveto move the recorder arm over the record blank, in combination, a. latch member adapted to cooperate with said lead screw engaging member to hold the recorder arm in inoperative position and laterally displaced from the turntable, said latch member being provided with a, cam surface in the path of said lead screw engaging member ment brings its needle 54 into engagement with the record blank IS. The weight of the arm 30 is suflicient to maintain the set screw 68 in engagement with the portion 61 of the web during recording. During this downward movement, the cam rise lll moves to the left, as viewed in Figure 3, past the pin 39, and consequently the pin 39 is moved upwardly by the screw 4| carried on the lever 42, this lever being swung in genesrally clockwise direction as viewed in Fi ure This movement of the lever 42 brings the element carried by it into engagement with the lead screw 26. This lead screw being driven from the turntable, moves the member 50'in-,

while the recorder arm 30 is being'moved out wardly. When the recorder'arm is moved outwardly to a sufficient extent, the lever 42 may engage the. inclined surface 13 and it may then slide over the surface 15.

When the arm 30 is moved out to its extreme position and is released, the lever 42 falls intoand adapted to raise'the lead screw engaging member out of engagement with the lead screw during the outward movement of the recorder arm.

' 2, In a recorder for phonograph records including a turntable, a recorder arm, a lead screw and a member engaging said lead screw'and arranged to move the recorder arm over the record blank, in combination, a latch member adapted to cooperate with said lead screw engaging member to hold the recorder arm in inoperative position and laterally displaced from the turntable, said latch member being provided with a cam surface adapted to raise-the lead screwengaging member out of engagement with the lead screw during the outward movement of the recorder arm,

said latch member being provided with a recess adapted to receive said lead-screw engaging member when the arm is in its inoperative laterally displaced position.

3. In a recorder for phonograph records including a turntable, a recorder arm, a lead screw. 1 and a member engagingsaid lead screw and arranged to move the recorder arm over the record blank, in combination, means biasing said engaging member towards the lead screw, a latch member adapted to cooperate with said lead screw engaging member to hold the recorder arm in inoperative position and laterally displaced from said turntable, said latch member being provided with a cam surface in fthepathof said lead screw engaging member and adapted to raise the lead screw engaging member 'agamst the action of said biasing means out of engagement with the lead screw during the outward movement of the recorder arm.

4. In a recorder for phonograph records in cluding a turntable, a recorder arm, a lead screw and a member engaging said lead screw and arranged to move the recorder arm over the record blank, in combination, means biasing said engaging member towards the lead screw, a latch member adapted to cooperate with said lead screw engaging meniber to hold the recorder arm in inoperative position and laterally displaced from the turntable, said latch member being pro vided with a cam surface in the path of said lead screw engaging member and adapted to raise the lead screw engaging member against the action of said biasing means out of engagement with the lead screw during the outward movement of the recorder arm, said latch member being provided with a recess adapted to receive said lead screw engaging member when the arm is in said inoperative position.

5. In a recorder for phonograph records including a turntable, a recorder arm, a lead screw and a member engaging said lead screw and arranged to move the recorder arm over the record blank, in combination, means biasing said engaging member towards the lead screw, means connecting the recorder arm and engaging member whereby elevation of the recorder arm effects the removal of the lead screw engaging member from the lead screw, a latch member adapted to cooperate with said lead screw engaging member when the recorder arm is in inoperative position and laterally displaced fromsaid turntable, said latch member being provided with a recess adapted to receive the lead screw engaging member when the arm is in said inoperative position, said recess having a shoulder which prevents inward movement of the recorder arm except when the lead screw member is elevated by suitable actua tion of the recorder arm.

6. In a recorder for phonograph records including a turntable, a recorder arm, a lead screw and a member engaging said lead screw and arranged to move the recorder arm over the record blank, in combination, a latch member adapted to cooperate with said lead screw engaging member to hold the recorder arm in inoperative posi' tion and laterally displaced from said turntable, said latch member being provided with a cam surface in the path of said lead screw engaging member and adapted to raise the lead screw engaging member out of engagement with the lead screw during the outward movement of the recorder arm, said latch member being provided with a recess adapted to receive said lead screw engaging member when the arm is in its inopera tive position, and means operativelyconnecting said recorder arm and said lead screw engaging member whereby last said member can be raised out of said recess by manual actuation of the recorder arm.

'7. In a recorder for phonograph records including a turntable, a recorder arm, a lead screw and a member engaging said lead screw and arranged to move the recorder arm over the record blank, in combination, means biasing said engaging member towards the head screw, a latch member adapted to cooperate with said lead screw engaging member to hold the recorder arm in inoperative position and laterally displaced from said turntable, said latch member being provided with a cam surface in the path of said lead screw engaging member and adapted to raise the lead screw engaging member against the action of said aaoaaro biasing means out of engagement with the lead screw during the outward movement of the recorder arm, means operatively connecting said recorder arm and said lead screw engagingmember whereby said member may be elevated away from said latch member by suitable manual actuation of the recorder arm.

8. In a recorder for phonograph records includ- 'said biasing means out 'of engagement with the lead screw during the outward movement of the recorder arm, said latch member being provided with a recess adapted to receive said lead screw engaging member when the arm is in its inoperative position, means operatively connecting said recorder arm and said lead screw engaging member whereby last said member can be elevated out of said recessby manual actuation of the recorder arm.

9. In a recorder for phonograph records including a turntable, a recorder arm, a lead screw and a member engaging said lead screw, in combination, a member pivotally mounted on a vertical axis, said lead screw engaging member and said recorder arm being pivotally mounted on last said member, and a latch member for maintaining said lead screw engaging member in position to maintain the recorder arm laterally clear of the record, said latch member having a cam surface in the path of the lead screw engaging member and a recess for retaining the lead screw engaging member with the recorder arm in a lateral location relative to the turntable.

10. In a recorder for phonograph records including a turntable, a recorder arm, a lead screw and a member engaging said lead screw, in combination, a member pivotally mounted on a vertical axis, said lead screw engaging member and said recorder arm being pivotally mounted on last said member, a latch member for maintaining said lead screw engaging member in position to' maintain the recorder arm laterally clear of the record, and means operative by the elevation of the recorder arm for raising said lead screw engaging member out of engagement with said latch.

11. In a recorder for phonograph records including a turntable, a recorder arm, a lead screw and a member engaging said lead screw, in combination, a member pivotally mounted on a vertical axis, said lead screw engaging member and CARL G. JOHNSON. 

